Arkansas Court upholds man's conviction in infant's deathLITTLE ROCK (AP) — The Arkansas Supreme Court rejected the appeal Thursday of an El Dorado man convicted of capital murder in the death of his girlfriend's infant daughter. The ruling upholds a Union County jury's conviction of Desmond Evans and his sentence of life without parole. Evans argued that the lower court failed to instruct the jury on lesser offenses of first-degree or second-degree murder. He also argued in his appeal that the lowe...

Fired Arkansas Treasurer's Office employee files lawsuitLITTLE ROCK (AP) — A former employee fired from the Arkansas treasurer's office filed a lawsuit Thursday against the treasurer's chief of staff, accusing him of defamation. David Singer, who was fired from his position as outreach manager for the treasurer's office in late April, filed the lawsuit in Pulaski County Circuit Court. The lawsuit was filed against Chief of Staff Jim Harris, as an individual not as a state employee. Grant Wallace, a...

Bentonville man gets death sentence in raping, killing girlBENTONVILLE (AP) — A Bentonville man convicted of kidnapping, raping and killing a 6-year-old girl has been sentenced to death. Zachary Holly, 30, was sentenced Wednesday to die by legal injection in the killing of Jersey Bridgeman in 2012. Holly's execution date has been set for Nov. 16, 2016, and a mandatory appeal will be filed. Last week, a Benton County Circuit Court jury of seven men and five women found Holly guilty of capital murder, k...

Home invasions, armed robberies and car hijacking in Russellville, Pope CountyOn Tuesday at about 4:16 a.m., the Russellville Police Department (RPD) responded to reports of home invasions and aggravated robberies at residences at the 300 block of South Boston Avenue and the 1400 block of North Boston Avenue in Russellville. According to a report from the RPD, the suspect, identified as Christopher Hamilton, allegedly entered both homes with a weapon and stole items and two separate vehicles. In both robberies, the resi...

Missouri suspect in killing of woman, teen son is deadKNOB NOSTER, Mo. (AP) — A man accused of holding his former girlfriend captive in a crate at their home in western Missouri then fatally shooting her and her teenage son, was shot and killed Saturday, authorities said. Law enforcement officers killed James Barton Horn Jr., 47, near Knob Noster, Missouri, Henry County Sheriff Kent Oberkrom said. Authorities have been searching for Horn since late April when he was charged in the kidnapping of 4...

Court rules blood taken legally in DWI convictionLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Arkansas police would be able to obtain a warrant to take a blood test even if a person suspected of driving while intoxicated refuses a test, according to an Arkansas Supreme Court ruling released Thursday. The court issued a majority opinion joined by four justices, who denied Ernie Charles Metzner's appeal of a 2014 DWI conviction. The justices said his argument that a blood sample was taken illegally was an "absurd" inte...

Bond Hearings (May 21, 2015)The following individuals appeared during felony bond hearings Wednesday at the Pope County Detention Center. Their names, ages, anticipated charges and bond amounts are listed. If charged, they will appear July 6 in Pope County Circuit Court. Rachel Cervantes, 53, delivery of schedule I or II drugs — $25,000. During November 2011, Cervantes allegedly sold confidential informants with the Russellville Police Department (RPD) Oxycodone pills tw...

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Compiled by Ryan SmithThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

DEA raids clinics, pharmacies in 'pill mill' crackdownLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Federal agents say they have carried out raids at medical clinics and pharmacies in four Southern states as part of a crackdown intended to help people addicted to prescription drugs. Agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration raided facilities in Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi on Wednesday. They said over the past 16 months, 280 people have been arrested under "Operation Pilluted," including 22 doctors an...

Little Rock OKs purchase of riot gear for police officersLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Little Rock officials have approved the purchase of riot gear for nearly all of its police officers after the chief lobbied for them as a precautionary measure following recent unrest in Missouri and Maryland. The City Council on Tuesday authorized the estimated $340,000 purchase of the protective gear, including shields, helmets and gas masks. But there will be 30 days for more research on the equipment before it can be ord...

Official: Arkansas officers shoot cuffed man in patrol carCABOT (AP) — A handcuffed parolee who had been frisked for a weapon opened fire on law enforcement officers from the back of a patrol car in central Arkansas, provoking a return of gunfire that left him dead, a corrections official said Wednesday. Corrections and sheriff's officers were looking for an unrelated suspect Tuesday night when they searched Jonathan McIntosh in Cabot and discovered he was in possession of a white powder, Arkansas De...

Man found shot to death outside home near ConwayCONWAY (AP) — Faulkner County authorities say a Conway man was found shot to death on the porch of a home near Conway. The county sheriff's office said Charles Oakey, 40, was found Tuesday by deputies responding to reports of a disturbance. The Log Cabin Democrat reported deputies say a caller reported a man was in her yard cursing, drinking beer and hitting her house with a boat paddle. Another call moments later reported the man walked to an...

Pot bust arrests fourFour suspects allegedly en route to Brooklyn, New York, from Milipitas, Calif., were arrested Friday after an officer with the Arkansas State Police found 58 pounds of high-grade marijuana, valued at $92,000, and $2,158 in cash hidden in their vehicle. All four face felony charges of possession with the purpose of delivery. The officer stopped the suspects near the U.S. Interstate 40 eastbound 73 mile marker for following too close. The office...

Bond Hearings (May 16, 2015)The following individuals appeared during felony bond hearings Friday at the Pope County Detention Center. Their names, ages, anticipated charges and bond amounts are listed. If charged, they will appear June 29 in Pope County Circuit Court. • Gabrielle Rolen, 24, furnishing prohibited articles — $5,000. On Monday, an investigator with the Pope County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) was notified by the Pope County Jail that someone had attempted to in...

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Compiled by Ryan SmithThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Johnson sheriff releases statement on fallen deputyCLARKSVILLE — The suspect in the shooting death of a Johnson County reserve deputy sheriff will have a bond hearing Monday. David Gibbons, prosecuting attorney for the Fifth Judicial District, said Saturday a bond hearing for Fred Kauffeld, 51, held in the Pope County Detention Center, will take place Monday afternoon. Reserve Deputy Sonny Smith, 42, was shot early Friday after confronting the suspect when Smith and other deputies responded to...

Johnson County deputy fatally shotCLARKSVILLE — The Johnson County Sheriff’s Department and law enforcement agencies throughout Arkansas are mourning the death of an 11-year veteran who was killed early Friday. Reserve Deputy Sonny Smith, 42, responded to a reported burglary with other deputies after the Sheriff’s Department received a telephone report at approximately 1 a.m. Friday in the area of County Road 1723, about 15 miles east of Clarksville. According to the Arkansas ...

Ex-Lonoke County assessor faces credit card fraud chargeLONOKE (AP) — Authorities say a former Lonoke County assessor faces charges including credit card fraud and property theft. Sheriff's deputies arrested Jack McNally, 58, of Cabot on Thursday following an Arkansas State Police investigation into the findings of a 2013 Legislative Audit on Lonoke County. Lonoke County Prosecuting Attorney Chuck Graham said McNally was taken into custody without incident. In addition to the credit card fraud and ...

Boston Marathon bomber sentenced to deathBOSTON (AP) — A jury sentenced Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to death Friday for the Boston Marathon bombing, sweeping aside pleas that he was just a "kid" who fell under the influence of his fanatical older brother. Tsarnaev, 21, stood with his hands folded upon learning his fate, decided after 14 hours of deliberations over three days in the nation's most closely watched terrorism trial since the Oklahoma City bombing case two decades ago. The decision ...

Police: Oklahoma Wal-Mart worker dies after being hit by SUVOKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A 21-year-old man is jailed on multiples charges after Oklahoma Police say he struck and killed a Wal-Mart worker with his vehicle. Sgt. Jennifer Wardlow said Rodney Lynch, 53, was pronounced dead at a hospital Friday morning after being hit by a sport utility vehicle while walking to his vehicle in the Wal-Mart parking lot. Wardlow said investigators later arrested Jabari Berry for causing a fatality collision and leaving...

Chief: Search underway for gunman, victim after shootingENGLAND (AP) — Authorities in Lonoke County are searching for a gunman and the man he shot after both fled from a crime scene. England Police Chief Nathan Cook repoted officers and deputies have been searching for the two men since Thursday night. He says the suspected shooter is wanted for a probation violation stemming from a 2012 negligent homicide conviction. Cook says the victim was likely shot in the hand and thigh. It's unclear why he l...